Top 10 Complaints from Home Care Clients

Have you heard any of these complaints from your clients?

Like it the old fashioned way?

While most home care agencies work extremely hard to provide great care to every client, there’s still a great deal that can be done to improve care and ensure even better experiences for clients. At Home Care Pulse, we conduct surveys with thousands of seniors every month to understand their experience receiving home care and identify where the agencies serving them can improve. In doing this, we’ve identified ten top areas of client complaints. How many of these might be an issue for your agency?

1. Confusion in communication due to multiple caregivers caring for one client.

Clients like having the stability of one caregiver and one point of contact. Having a “point man” ensures responsibility is taken and assures clients that nothing will be lost in communication.

2. Caregivers who aren’t punctual.

Home care clients commonly report that caregivers come late or leave early. Some clients are on a strict schedule, and having a caregiver show up late means they could be left unattended. It can be a huge inconvenience for family members who have to stay longer while missing out on those extra 10-20 minutes they’re paying for.

3. Inconsistent quality of care.

Some caregivers are better at their job than others, but it can be really frustrating for a client when one caregiver is exceptional, then the next performs only basic tasks. Read our posts on recruiting, retaining and training quality caregivers to ensure your level of care is always reliable.

Thursday, Sept. 25 | 1pm Eastern | 60 minutes

4. Caregivers spending too much time on phones.

Clients get really irritated when caregivers are on the clock and wasting time on their phones, neglecting the client. Enforce strict rules about cell phone usage, set a standard penalty for those who break the rules, and hold your caregivers accountable.

5. Lack of caregiver training.

Clients are sometimes upset when caregivers can’t perform basic cooking and cleaning requests. One woman we interviewed said when she asked her caregiver for a grilled cheese sandwich, the young woman stuck cheese on a piece of bread then dropped it in the toaster, creating a huge mess. Some caregivers may benefit from basic cooking instructions or recipes.

6. Cultural differences/language barriers.

Many cultures have different standards for cooking and hygiene. If you hire someone from another country, teach them about our customs and basic words in English before they start working. Language barriers and cleanliness differences can be very troubling and frustrating for your clients.

7. No discounted rates for 12+ hour shifts.

Clients who have a greater need for help will pay much more than those with only basic help needed. If your budget allows, try to take off a dollar or two for those long visits. This could be more difficult with the recent changes to caregiver exemptions, but clients will appreciate whatever effort you can make.

8. Pay schedule is inconvenient.

Some companies send out a weekly bill, but some clients prefer monthly billing since it’s easier to keeping track of payments. Keep clients in mind when planning your billing schedule.

9. Being charged time and a half.

Clients complain of being charged time and a half on holidays, which equals to about $30/hour. They feel that’s too steep and care shouldn’t cost that much. If you’re able to make adjustments, do so. At the very least, provide information for clients, so they understand why this policy is in place.

10. Not being told when caregivers call in sick.

It’s not uncommon for caregivers to call in sick to the office, but the office doesn’t call the clients or send a replacement. This is a communication problem that could cause astronomical problems for your clients and your home care business.

While all businesses struggle in one way or another, it’s important to take a detailed and honest inventory of your performance. Only by doing this can you begin the road to improvement and create a growing, healthy home care business. If you’re making one or more of these mistakes, take the necessary steps to solve the problem and prevent the negative impact these issues could have on your client pool and reputation.

What Complaints Do Your Clients Have?

It’s good to know the top complaints that are general throughout the industry, but it’s better to understand the specific complaints that your clients have. In our Quality Management Program, we call your clients (and caregivers) as a third party to get unbiased, direct feedback on how you can improve. Then we provide this feedback to you in custom reports with a breakdown of exactly where you can improve. To learn more about how you can learn exactly what your clients are saying about you, schedule a demo with one of our specialists today.

Join more than 20,000 home care professionals on our mailing list.

Get the latest updates from the blog and free resources to help you grow your home care business.

Sorry, but if a carer isn’t willing to adapt to clients needs, they shouldn’t even be a carer in the first place.

A June 14, 2016 at 12:01 am

Clients want more from carer than they do from family members. If it wasn’t for carer many clients, would be in nursing home or even worse —DEAD!!!

Unlnown March 20, 2018 at 12:18 am

Your so right

CHHA that need a better job August 9, 2018 at 11:11 am

I would like to know what to do about a company that hires home health aides then messes up with their pay for their home health aides every so often and they always have an excuse like we switch banks. When it’s not that they have a new payroll company that messed up with the hours and excuses and excuses like every few months they miss payments people do not get paid. We have to show up there to get our checks and I am stilled owed a check when my client switched companies because he moved to a different location in the same state but the agency that handled the case did not work for this area he is living I moved along with him because he liked me and like my work ethic. They still owe me from 2014 August 17,18,19 days that I worked they tried to pin the blame on the other company but I never had that problem before. As soon as I am a couple month along the pay problems begin I do not get paid all the hours and when I do get paid and sometimes they don’t even have my pay. It does not happen every month but every 3 months we get this problem all the time. My client called several times to find someone to come to supplement me because I had to go to the doctors and they put him through a voicemail making me have to schedule an appointment for him and me so I can assist him as well while I see the same Doctor. I get no vacation or PTO.I get no paid leave and we have to ask for it if we want some time off the insurance is the worst insurance I would call it a discount plan because you pay the original fee the doctor charges then you make a claim after you’ve reached 4 thousand dollars. Yet they expect loyalty and for us to promote their business. My client is fed up and he said he is switching companies and keeping me and he has picked a good agency he want to however submit a complaint because of all that I had to sacrifice like I have to go to this clinic the same day and the same time the Doctor has to see us both because of their lack of work ethics and whenever I call they are looking to hang up quickly its like they do not have any customer service skills not even with the patient.

Patty December 3, 2018 at 6:21 pm

Or the care givers who want to talk al day or run thier arrons when they are supposed to take you to do arrons. Then rush you because it’s time for them to get off the clock. Call in sick all the time and late every day

Caregivers are under appreciate in so many ways. We don’t get paid for the many things we’re asked to do. We are asked to do so much including things that is outside of our job scope. The family’s of the clients are overbearing and they always get in the way of the caregiver. Being a caregiver today feels like modern day slavery. I was asked by a clients husband to change diapers on his sick dog (pet). People will always complain and mistreat the caregiver regardless. I mean why even have such a thing as home care services!

Amelia November 1, 2017 at 12:56 pm

I have to agree with you. Agencies want to pay us pennies while they make bank. Clients expect so much more from us !

Dee Dee January 11, 2018 at 6:04 pm

I’m sorry, really sorry, but I would not be changing pet diapers. Matter of fact I’m allergic to cats and dog and I would humbly ask not to have a client that has pets. Now the extras like cooking and cleaning I don’t have a problem, but I’m not the housekeeper for the entire household if the client lives with family members, justsaying!

Kacey June 27, 2018 at 5:07 pm

Well. I guess I am the exception. I have had so many provider’s in the last year. Some steal and stay on their mobile all twenty eight hours out of the thirty two I get. Some don’t show up at all. And the lies. I have had it with Universal Nursing in San,Antonio. Lie after lie. I have a terminal illness. Not dead so far.

I agree with Kacey. If a person is going to generalize about relatives…I can generalize about them! They want the clients pain killers and money! If a person is going to make snotty comments about family members “healthcare providers care more than family members” is full of arrogant crap! Care givers don’t show up and if they do show up they show up sick after you have told them not to come sick because your spouse is in treatment for cancer, the care givers get to sleep and i haven’t slept in 3 days! Finally, they ask me to help lift him and watch him. I have to work or sleep! I worked at a nursing home and took care of my dying sister as primary because she couldn’t afford home health care. Also the home healthcare person let my husband fall and hit his head on a metal trashcan. He has a brain tumor! What an arrogant idiot to suggest such a thing! Get out of the business! Families need you like a hole in the head! You Jerk!

Kristi I am not including you or good healthcare people just the idiot in the nasty above. I would pay more but we still don’t get better quality

This entire article is laughable because the onus is ALWAYS placed on the caregiver…never mind we are under paid, overworked, treated as modern day slaves by family members and agencies alike and treated as less than because we like caring for others. This field is quickly going on a down slide thanks to the industrial healthcare complex…I’m a caregiver for an agency but seeking my BAN so I don’t have to deal with the mountain of disrespect I have to deal with on a daily basis. It’s just not worth it anymore!!

While it is hard to accommodate everyone’s needs or to meet each client’s standard of excellence, it’s good to continually keep their needs in mind.

If you can’t lower the price of the services, you may be able to increase the value of those services by training the caregivers to go above and beyond the call of duty by performing tasks that increase client satisfaction.

People often feel a willingness to pay more for a service as long as they feel they are getting “the most bang for their buck!”

Keep up the good work Stan!! It’s so awesome that you try so hard to improve the quality of living for seniors in your area!

[…] however, home care agencies aren’t without fault. Recently, Home Care Pulse posted the top 10 complaints that many agencies hear from their clients. Let’s review a few of these complaints and how a […]

I agree with every insight! These posts are key to my agency’s evaluations! The proactivity and accountability are factors that an agency cannot be successful without. I highly recommend take extra classes in health care administration and leadership. Thank you for the article. It is down to the point and absolutely true according to the national statistics and quality performance measures by Home Helpers agency of Fairfield county in CT.http://www.homecaregreenwich.com

I’m a single mom with a down’s syndrome son in a catch-22 situation such as taking him to/ fro doctor’s appointment in Melbourne, Orlando, Jacksonville or to pick him up at school for any reasons. I had a previous agency that gave me a worker with criminal background after she will show up 2-hrs later or don’t show up at all while I’m work. Now, I got another for 1 month with another job because I had to leave because I didn’t have the care and no funds to pay for 8 or 9 hrs to hold on to my job. This new agency workers left because the traveling cost from Titusville was too much and the second worker was pulled to a different case. Can someone help me or where to go to expose those homecare agency who doesn’t care about the family’s but getting new cases with no workers. Now I’m about to lose another job because of the ethical and treatments of this agency. I’m afraid for my son to have a trachechtomy without having everything in order. Thanks in advance for replying.

I’m sorry to hear you’ve had such a terrible experience with your care. Have you contacted the supervisor of these caregivers or the home care agency owner? Most agencies will do their best to find you a replacement and to fix the situation when a caregiver can’t come. I would start by contacting them to make sure they’re aware of what has happened. If they can’t fix it, I would talk to them about refunding you for the services that they didn’t provide. I would also recommend checking bestofhomecare.com for a new provider if the situation doesn’t improve. This site only lists providers that Home Care Pulse has certified as providers of quality care. Let me know if you have any other questions. I hope things get better soon.

Complain to the CQC or Healthwatch England. In fact, complain to as many healthcare commisioners as you can. They will do inspections on the agency, and if they don’t improve, the commisioners shuts them down for good.

Many agencies and companies do not pay carers full time or hire them in for they do not want to carer to get benefits. Carers have to do what they have to do make ends meet (e.g. another job). One thing you must remember carers are there for a certain time bracket and have their own lives and families and not obligated to be there after the time expired.

I use a home care agency, and there’s no communication between office staff and carers. The only time they communicate, is when it’s time to give the carers details of where their next clients home is. Not only that. They suddenly get unexpected calls, so now they can only spend twenty minutes with each client. They have no social life, or family time. It’s a nightmare for both client and carer. The clients can’t always be bothered, and sometimes the carers have also had enough. I’m not sure that home care services will ever get back to how they once were.

It’s frustrating when you don’t feel like you or your caregivers have a voice with your home care agency. I would recommend bestofhomecare.com. It’s a website that allows you to search for home care providers in your area who have been certified for their quality of care. You can also search through award-winning providers who have been recognized for their services and their workplace. These awards are based on the ratings they’ve received through regular third-party interviews with their clients and caregivers, so you know they’re recent and reliable.

I live an hour away from my mother, she receives home care 3 days a week for 1-2 hours each visit. The fridge was full of expired food, radishes with fuss, rotten vegetables , food that had been sitting in the fridge way over the expiry date. She is not being showered regularly her room smelt of urine, sheets not being changed. just unforgivable state. who do I take my complaints to above the provider also the caregiver is borrowing money from her not to mention what she may be helping herself to

That sounds like a terrible situation Ann. The best person to take your complaints to is the provider (business owner) who should work to resolve them immediately. If you can’t reach the provider, you could speak with the caregiver’s direct supervisor. However, if you have already spoken to the provider and you haven’t seen a change, you should consider switching providers.

Start by searching for a provider on BestofHomeCare.com. There you’ll be able to find providers in your area who have proven their quality through client and caregiver interviews and ratings. Start there and see if there are better providers available nearby. Then let us know how it goes. We hope things get better soon.

Iam a care giver. I love staying busy. I enjoy my job. Iam old school and go above and be on caring for my client. I am 59 and still able to work very well. I work for Medicaid. I have to pay my oun taxes. I keep up my oun CPR frist aid. Finger prints, and had three pay cuts in the last eight years. I would love a job that would appreciate my work,.passion , and care. Have the taxes taken out. Iam a verified CNA HHP.

I have been in healthcare field for 20 years. I do agree it is good to educate caregiviers what to look for when you allow someone in your home with your love one. When you pick your home health provide ask questions do your research. Do not be afraid to ask what if this happens or who do I call. Even ask if they are certified nursing assistant. There are jobs that home health hire non cerified staff for such as cooking (sittier jobs) which would be the less of training how to be care for elderly at home. Ask if they do backround checks or tb test for safety of love one.

Please let us have a website that helps seniors and disabled deal with service agencies and caregiver problems despite paying anywhere between 23 to 30 dollars per hour. If you suffer fro m issues with agencies and caregivers please let us form a group in amedica to help each other. I will check this website to see if anyone is interested.

I am so interested in this web site you suggest. I believe that some agencies violate their clients and only are interested in the money you give them. I have a child who was disabled in an automobile accident and I cannot believe how horrible some of these agencies are.

I agree that there nerds to be better accountability for the care givers and the agencies they cone from. I recently complained to the agency about my father’s caregiver leaving work early without telling anybody he was leaving early. The agency informed me that the caregiver didn’t leave early and defended the caregiver. I know for a fact that he left my father unattended because I searched the house for him and then went outside to look for him and his car was gone. My father is wheelchair bound, has Parkinson’s and dementia. Her can but be left alone. The agency went add far as to question me about why I waited 15 minutes to report his absence. I wanted to make sure he was not in another room and check outside for his car and check with another family member before I accused him of negligence. The agency said he took the trash out and found trash in the driveway and so he spent the last 15 minutes outside picking up leaves and trash. We pay him to care for my father not pick up trash and leaves. Also, he didn’t follow the procedures for clocking in and out so the agency had no proof of his timeline. How dare them question my integrity and not believe me. Also, he has left him alone with his exercise class and he’s supposed to help him with his exercises not abandon him and get on his cell phone for an hour out more.

I agree 100%. As an owner of Caring Companions (www.CaringCompanionsHC.com), these issues were discussed at length prior to inception. We really believe the best thing we can do to combat these issues is to remain proactive. For example: 1) keep staffing a priority, so you’re not ever desperate. 2) maintain integrity for the sake of your clients, business and employees. There is never an excuse to disregard background checks as one commenter mentioned. 3) treat your employees fairly and with respect. Happy employees are always better employees.

I work for Synergy Homecare out of Vancouver Washington they have lack of punctuality they are concern consistent when it comes to their clients they send the clients new caregivers everyday so it doesn’t give them a sense of trust they sing caregivers out there that have no background check they send caregivers out there that are on drugs they saying caregivers out there that don’t do their job so when the caregiver comes that cares for her job she has to make up for all the slack that the previous caregiver didn’t do its abuse and it’s neglect and they still get paid by Medicare I don’t even see why they’re not shut down yet. they get numerous of calls about abuse and neglect for their clients they don’t come out investigated they don’t call Adult Protective Services they make the caregivers call Adult Protective Services instead of them coming out to investigate the situation and check over there clients that they’re getting paid for let alone they only pay their caregivers 1125 an hour when they when they’re supposed to pay us way more. They still for Medicaid still hours claim hours

Try Dynamic Healthcare Services Inc. My mum used them, and they have the most caring caregivers. One even helped my mum with her flowers. It made my mum so happy. She feels like part of the family. They are very good with taking care of seniors and babies. You call them on : 708-856-6252

Wow! Such a great article. I own and operate a Home Help Agency in Michigan and I too share the issues and complaints from my clients. Is there any inexpensive way I can help train my employees on better work ethics? Also how can I get vetted and registered as a provider on your registry? Vinson’s Home Help

I agree! These complaints are inevitable. It can happen anytime but I think it can be lessen too by just merely having a proper and constant communication between the client and the assign caregiver. You can never go wrong if you communicate properly but I still thank you for sharing these top complaints as they are very important and should not be neglected as well. Very well said.

I am a homecare giver. I agree with these problems. I have over 25 experience in taking care of people ranging from residential to nursing home..I also worked in day placement.When I fill in for other care givers..the biggest complaint is that the care giver sits and plays with their phone.And it isn’t just the younger people..but the older caregivers are doing it now. I went in yesterday and had to convince the the lady I was there to help that it was ok to ask me to do something for her. It is over whelming because our job is to make these peoples lives easier.If everything is done, then our job is to be a companion..depression can cause illness and people who are alone suffer from lack of companionship. Watching tv and playing with our phone is not our job. All it takes is a few lousy workers and everytime I walk into a house to work..they are expecting me to do nothing. I went outside with the lady so she could smoke and a lot of the others smokers have care givers and I got my ears full. It was embarrassing..

Always looking for helpful insights like this to improve our services and better educate our caregivers at http://www.HandsandHeartsHomeCare.com. Thanks so much for allowing others to learn from your experience and expertise!

As a new HHAide, I must admit being a suspicious person has saved me and the client a lot of pain. Example: Despite being in a wheelchair, I discovered one client was NOT really in need of an HHA for her personal medical needs. She was really looking for a maid and pet daycare aide for the price of one (minimum wage)! Note: her home was large and super-duper filthy and so were her dog and cat. If this client could have her friends and family over for a gathering/party every 2 weeks (dirtying the house), then I wonder why can’t she get THEM to take care of her personal needs, housecleaning and pet walking??

I’d rather be a caregiver than the client. No privacy in your own home is one of the hardest things for clients. Caregivers do an amazing job, but remember, most clients would trade places with you in an instant. I haven’t meet a caregiver yet that would trade places with me. And it is a question I put to caregivers. I’m young enough to still want to walk, use the toilet, go shopping, and bath myself. But I can’t, so need others for help. And I hate it, being reliant on others. So, caregivers, even when you think it’s unfair, remember, you can go home at the end of the day.

Who can I report my HHA to. They told me I would have the same aide but once they started I’m lucky if I get an aide twice weekly and really lucky if it’s the same one. They try and change my hours and they are really disrespectful. Help!!

I am a single person looking for a caregiver for a knee replacement. It has been hell to find anyone!!! Going through agencies are the biggest ripoff to the caregiver and the client. They basically have anyone sign on and the level of training is ridiculous. It seems the baby boomer generation is in for $$$ sucked from their wallets to find anyone private pay or agency that has any brains, common sense or qualifications. The first time I ever used an agency for short term I was sent a caregiver who was a school teacher who did not have the brains to set up a shower for me. I probably will just choose a rehab facility for a few weeks and give up looking for someone. There are probably some young, smart nursing student types out there who I would love to find but where???? I think most “caregiver” situations are looking for a job where the poor elder is dying in hospice, or dementia where they have little to do with these poor souls and they can sit and watch TV or be on their phones.

I’m homebound and yes I would trade places with the caregiver instead of being the patient just like the lady above I think it’s too much freedom on the job maybe is supervisors paid visits to the house while caregivers were on worksite but if you ask for like cleaning to be done our laundry or hey even get it a bath you can an attitude most of the time or it’s done like a 12 year old and you have a bigger mess then you take the extra money that you can put together and you all for it to someone to come in and clean are you offering to the caregivers to spend extra time to clean but because you can’t get up and go look at it nothing gets done not much this is happened repeatedly I’ve given money we could even give to those that have been good to us we’ve had a few they have been very good but not many jobs would let you spend your entire time on the phone watching TV are going outside to smoke are bringing your boyfriend your children your grandchildren and sometimes that’s okay and I understand but when it interferes with the whole time and you barely get anything done even something to drink you get halfway cleaned up and I mean halfway and that takes its toll after a while on the person mentally and physically I just don’t know where the care went and caregiving so many of them one why did they pick this field and if you really start asking questions most of the time they went through a lot of jobs or they haven’t had many jobs this is the first job I don’t think giving pay increase helps because I’ve seen it increase to give incentives still the same sloppy work let’s not to mention holidays holidays are horrible nobody wants even if you try to accommodate them and just take the minimum amount of time that you need just to get changed and cleaned up this starts to be a habit forming thing if you increase the pay It’s never enough the quality of work doesn’t change tomorrow I I have a new caregiver again I really don’t look forward to it there’s not a whole lot of do look forward to but I’m trusting God and I tried to do my best each and every day even when it hurts and even when and I’m not being cleaned up very good when the house is a mess when my food is is not edible I know there’s others going through the same thing or worse so God be with us all I pray for the caregivers and the those who need the care

Hi, as a caregiver I would like you to know that I get how frustrating it is to have constant change. But, caregivers have lives as well and sometimes schedules don’t work for them, or have to leave a job unexpectedly, and sometimes even though it sucks there are those people who quit for no explanation

The love of my life for the last 17 years was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease nearly 4 years ago, at age 52. He had a stooped posture, tremors, muscle stiffness, horrible driving skills, and slow movement. He was placed on Sinemet 50/200 at night for 7 months and then Sifrol and rotigotine were introduced which replaced the Sinemet but he had to stop due to side effects. He started having hallucinations, lost touch with reality. Suspecting it was the medications I took him off the Siferol (with the doctor’s knowledge) In March this year his primary physician suggested we started him on Natural Herbal Gardens Parkinson’s Herbal formula which eased his anxiety a bit, i’m happy to report this PD herbal treatment worked very effectively. His Parkinson’s is totally under control, he had a total decline in symptoms, the tremors, shaking, stiffness, slow movement and speech problems stopped. Visit Natural Herbal Gardens official web page ww w. naturalherbalgardens. c om. My family are amazed at the change and rapid improvement. PD is not a death Sentence, DON’T GIVE UP HOPE!!!

Nice post. I used to be checking constantly this blog and I am impressed! Extremely useful info specifically the ultimate phase :) I take care of such information a lot. I was looking for this particular info for a very lengthy time. Thank you and good luck.

I HAVE HAD AN AID FOR TWO YEARS 3 DIFFERENT AGENCIES # 1 AID SAT ON MY BR SINK PULLED FROM THE WALL 3WANTED ME TO HIRE A CLEAUP CO WICH WOULD HAVE CHARGE ME A FORTUNE. .. CONTACTED A FRIEND WHO REPAIREDN IT FOR ME AND THE BR LOOKS GREAT. HOME HEALTH CARE AGENIES HAVE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS WITH DIFFERENT REPAIR CO(KICKBACKS) SECOND HAD HIGH TURNOVER AND POOR TREATMENT#3 AFTER 6 WEEKS W/THE SAME AID (GREAT CAREGIVER THEY CALLED ME ON A FRIDAY AND ANNOUNCED THAT MONDAY I WOULD NOT HAVE HER RETURNING. SINCE I AM ON HER FB ACCOUNT I CONTACTED HERSHE SENT BACK A SAD FACE AND WAS DISAPOINTED.. THEY WANTED TO GIVE NESOMEONE NEW AND NOW I WOULD HAVE TO PAY .52 PER MILE 30 MILES PER DAY 3 TIMES A WEEK 4.3 TIMES PER MONTH TIMES 12 MONTHS AMMOUNTS TO 2418.88 A YEAR. SINCE I AM A VA PATIENT THIS WAS A SCAM. THIS SHOULD BE IN THEIR COST STRUCTURE ASIT WOULD NOT THAN BE AN ISSUE FOR TH CAEREGIVEF.

These are great! Some issues are solveable and some might never be. You will always have issues when people are dealing with people.

However, some home care software can fix these issues: caregivers can be held accountable with visit verification, time can be better managed with online scheduling, billing can be set to automatically go out monthly, and messaging capabilities can save for call outs.

A home care software like https://caretime.us can help address some, but NOT ALL of the issues.

This article is clearly biased. It focuses the issue on the care providers and not the system as a whole. While the individual (caregiver ) is responsible for his or her own actions this is not just a problem to blamed on them. Low wages and lack of training is a major cause for the listed concerns. You know you get what you pay for. The agencies appear to be more concerned with getting their cut of the pay while do minimal to deserve it. Why does an agency feel its right to charge a client such a high rate? What exactly makes their take derserve such a high percentage of the hourly fee? They do what in the long run, payroll and staffing? So making calls and hiring gets an hourly cut? The companies are often taking over %50 of the clients fee while basically doing human resource work and very little at that. The workers in the field make less per hour than the companies earns for each client I have seen a break down as ridiculous as client fee $35 per hour, caregiver gets $11 per hour and agencies receives $24 per hour on every hour worked by caregiver. The companies want cheap labor so they can turn a handsome profit all while doing very little. Perhaps they should only charge a one time fee for a duration of time and hire better quality workers for better pay. And No $11-15 an hour is not quality pay. Also, clients have responsibility as well. Why do clients pay $30+ With half or more going to the agency when so many could directly hire and fire on their own.If they could hite directly they could pay more and find better quality All they have to do is a get a tax ID and use an app or computer program for time sheets and payroll. Insurances can be an issue but even that can be handled if a person can take sometime and do it for their selves or their loved ones. It just takes a willingness and some effort. But I will tell you why all this nonsense prevails. Because people are lazy and just want someone else to handle everything. And then complain how it’s not up to their standards. All while friends and family members who often live in the home do nothing or very little to help the person who needs care. There was a time when non of these services existed and it looks like that time may be coming back around. Young people today are not interested in changing YOUR mother’s briefs cleaning her house for poverty wages all while you sit back and do nothing to help but complain how it’s not good enough. Wake up people everyone is to blame for this client included .

I have worked as a home care provider and always completed tasks daily. Sometimes I had clients who wanted me to do extra tasks that my job and its very hard to say no to the client but if I did say I am not allowed they will get very upset. Little do some people know some of the agencies have a time limit on aides of being in homes. At times if we go over our limit we will either be late for other clients and we do not get paid for any overtime. I worked for an agency that was funded by the State and there were very strict rules. We could not go over certain amount of hours if we did it was basically a “ooh well sorry” and we didn’t get paid. So some people were working for free when going over. Some people did not mind because of how they cared for their clients. Home care workers will be needed more in the future because of the aging in the country. One problem is they do not get paid as much in a lot of areas.

To deliver structured health services right where you live. For elder loved ones who simply just need some extra love and care, or a physically or mentally disabled loved one who needs special compassionate care, you can check out at Advancehealth care to get some quality benefits.

It is beyond frustrating when the HHA does not show up on time or does not show up at all. My parent is a stroke victim, he is unable to go to the bathroom alone, get food / drink alone. We depend on this agency to send the HHA to provide this care They do not call when the aide calls out for their shift, they have no back up plan for when the HHA is ill. All we ask is that they call us, we could make other arrangements so that we can get him to the bathroom and give him lunch. The agency does not seem to understand the impact on the patient when the HHA is not there when they are scheduled. I really thought that my Dad was going to have another stroke yesterday because no one showed up. He had to go to the bathroom and no one was there. Personally I feel that it is emotional abuse! Caring for my parent is so easy, you take him to the bathroom, empty the urinal and give him lunch that is already to go. He is in his right mind, easy to get along with, he is funny and smart. Easy two hours for any HHA. It is beyond difficult to come home from work and hold your parent as they cry, they cry because of the way they are being treated, they cry because they DO NOT WANT TO BE IN THIS POSITION. They have feelings, they have dignity. I want to scream, hey agency, guess what, YOU ARE GOING TO BE ELDERLY, would you like to be treated the way your are treating your clients? This is long, sorry, it is just so frustrating and you have no where to turn.

This list is so true. What has bothered me lately is caregivers always on their phones. I know our phones do everything now but I think while you’re on the clock they should be put away except for emergencies or if you’re on a break. Great article!

system for Medicaid services the myGeoTracking for care providers and home care workers to capture care delivery data in automate field operations using real-world triggers involving people, place and time.

Dirty Tricks Con Artist Caregivers Do: 1. Sleep on shift, then stay late to get paid more. Worse, some caregivers will blame staying late on the patient. For instance, “patient/client voided at 5:00pm” when their shift ends at 5:00 pm. However, as in case cited, the family had hidden surveillance that showed the caregiver SLEEPING from noon to 5pm, while the non verbal elderly client sat in bed moaning. Never turned client. Never looked at client. And, client didn’t void at 5pm. Client voided at 434 pm and caregiver didn’t change client until 5pm. Then claimed an extra 30 minutes to do notes, when clearly the notes could’ve been STARTED during the hours the lazy lying con artist caregiver was snoozing. And these people want MORE PAY/ PLEASE>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> do your job right before you even think you qualify for a raise. Get real. And if you can’t handle being a caregiver find another damn job. It’s that simple. Don’t put people’s LIVES on line, you will get caught. People watch you when you don’t even know it. Stop abusing and neglecting vulnerable people.

This is some really good information about hospice care. It is good to know that it would be smart to make sure that you don’t have any language barriers with the caregiver. That does seem like it would be easier on your loved one who isn’t doing too well.

It is true about the complaints from health care assistant. It is important as well for a nursing home to choose and train very well their employees to avoid these following complaints to ensure that the patients wou.d have a satisfying experience with their health care assistant.

I’m glad that you mentioned that caregivers could really get clients crazy when they spend more time on their phones than on senior personal care. It would sure make Grandma really angry if she needed her adult diapers changed and her caregiver’s busy making video calls with her husband during work hours. It would be best if senior facilities could impose really simple, but strict rules to limit cellphone usage to the most urgent emergencies. Thank you for your reminders,

Home care agencies need to look at these complaints and stop blaming the client and only believing the aide. The agencies lie or make excues to clients about the reason that the aide didn’t show up. The excuses I mostly get is either they don’t know why, they don’t want to go that far or they can’t find anyone. It is all BS to me. They just don’t hire enough staff with the right credentials. Such a shame that the client has to suffer.

I really appreciate it that you mentioned that the best in-home care services provide clients with on caregiver to ensure a single point of contact to avoid miscommunications and to ensure responsible care. This is just what my parents want for my grandparents to enjoy with their professional caregivers. By providing them one each, a man and a woman respectively, my grandma and grandpa are assured that they are well taken care of and that all their needs are met while they stay in the safety of their Carnelian Hills country home.

These are very common complaints when it comes to home care clients. Although there are many reputable home-care agencies that offer home care services but it is difficult to make a choice as numerous option available.

It never occurred to me that some caregivers will come late to the clients are even leave earlier than they should. I’ve been looking around at different home care companies for my parents who need some help at home. These tips you shared will help me find a reliable company to hire.